Consider the Cost - Devotion for 6/25/07

Consider the Cost – Devotion for 6/25/07

For quite a while Jennifer had been telling me that she wanted us to get a cat. We had a cat when we first got married, and although I enjoyed having the cat, I got tired of all the hair that would eventually wind up all over everything. So for some time, I resisted Jennifer’s suggestions. However last year for Mother’s Day, she brought it up again, and the boys loved the idea, so we got to looking in the newspaper to see if anyone had any kittens to give away. We found several listings, made a few calls, and we finally settled on getting not one, but two kittens. These kittens came to us for the total cost of FREE! So, there I was thinking I made out like a bandit for Mother’s Day. And then we went to the vet. In hindsight, it would have been much cheaper for me to have given her some beautiful jewelry to wear, considering what we had to spend to have them spayed and neutered, get there shots, and receive wellness check-ups. Add in the food, the food and water dish, the litter box (that everyone in the family agreed to clean up . . . yeah, you can guess how that one turned out), the play toys, the kitty bed, and the kitty treats. If at that time we had considered the total cost of having those two cats, I’m not too sure that we would have gotten those “free” cats. But knowing what we now, and how much we love those cats, we’d probably pay twice that if we had to.

In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus is describing the cost of following him. According to that passage, to follow Jesus you have to be willing to hate your father, mother, wife, children, and even yourself. You have to be willing to carry your own cross, which was an expression the disciples knew, but not to the extent of what it would mean to them. You know, when I consider those costs, those are steep – but I think I understand them. There are times that if you are going to truly be a follower of Jesus that you are going to go against the will or wishes of your family, and there are going to be times that if you are faithful to Jesus, you will suffer as if you were carrying your own cross. But Jesus brings up one other cost that I am not sure that we are always willing to pay: “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). That, my friends, seems harsh. Give up all my possessions? How can my possessions really be a part of the cost of following Christ?

This weekend I saw an example of how our possessions can hold us back. This past weekend my youngest son Aaron was the starting first baseman on his All Star team in a tournament. Friday night and Saturday we got to watch him and the rest of team play great, only to lose both games by the other team scoring in their final at bat. In the game Saturday morning, one of our players got up to bat, and he hit the ball hard to left field. As he was rounding his way past first on his way to an easy stand-up double, his helmet fell off. This young man panicked, not knowing what to do. He stopped running, came back for the helmet, and put it back on as he attempted to run to second. Before he got to second, the helmet started coming off again so he ran with his hands on his head, which slowed him down considerably. He was able to slide (which was impressive with both hands on his head!), and beat the tag as the other team had had time to get the ball in. Because he was so concerned about the thing, he almost missed the point of what he was doing. When we follow Christ, we cannot let our “things” get in the way of us fully committing to following Him. I think about all of our soldiers who leave behind all their things and families because they have been given orders to go serve overseas. I can’t imagine what it would be like if they showed up to board the plane with all their possessions, plus the kitchen sink. The same is true in following Christ – we must be a willing soldier if need be, willing to leave behind everything – father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, possessions – for the sake of the call.

Bad Attitude - Devotion for 6/22/07

Bad Attitude – Devotion for 6/22/07

Being the father of two boys ages 9 and 7, occasionally I have to put up with a bad attitude (I know, shocking, isn’t it?). Sometimes as we are preparing to go somewhere one of them will just not want to go and they will get a royal sullen attitude –something that I am confident will not get worse as they get older. As that attitude continues, it usually makes me just want to tell them, “You are going to have a good time whether you like it or not!” However, I have tried that tactic, and surprisingly it did not work too well. I have attempted many tactics to get them out of the bad attitude as we are going somewhere or doing something, and usually almost nothing works. However, the one thing that does seem to work with my 2 boys (at least for now) is when I tell them that if they have a miserable attitude about it, they will have a miserable time. But if they change their attitude and bring a good attitude, they will have a good time. I let them know that they are the ones who will determine whether or not it is a good day or a bad day by what they put into it. Sometimes that works – sometimes it doesn’t.

I thought about our attitudes as I read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. This passage states, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously”(2 Corinthians 9:6). The author is in the middle of writing about how he and others have been testifying to the generosity of the people of Corinth, and that he is hoping that they will continue to give in the generous way that they have been giving. However, the passage continues that the sowing that we do should be done with a good attitude, not doing it because they have to, but because they want to – “for God loves a cheerful giver”(2 Cor. 9:7). Again, it really seems like it is about our attitude, not just our actions. Our actions mean nothing if our attitude about them reflect something different. Have you ever said something sarcastically? I have spoken sarcastically maybe once or twice (hey – no comment!). You may say one thing, but by the tone and the way you say it, it is very obvious that is not what you really meant. If the attitude we have about giving is that we are giving “because I have to,” then we may be giving, but not with a good attitude. You will get out of it whatever you put into it. Same thing for every day of our life.

Are you "called" or "owned" - Devotion for 6/21/07

Are you “owned” or “called”? – Devotion for 6/21/07

When I was preparing for ordination, as is standard in the United Methodist Church, I was placed into a covenant group with others who were preparing for the same task as I was. The group I was a part of was a wonderful group – I had gone to seminary with 4 of them, 1 of them and I were in the same youth group as teens, and another 1 of them knew my father. On top of what a great group we had, we were assigned a minister who would help guide us and prepare us for the ordination papers and interviews. I recall one particular conversation that we had where we were talking about how many hours a week a minister should “work.”

Rev. Banks spoke up to us and make the proclamation, “If you are fully devoted to your calling, then you should not work at all.” Confused, we all looked around the room as if Rev. Banks had just blasphemed God somehow. He began to explain that recently his congregation had hired a full-time youth minister, and this youth minister had come into his office and asked him how many hours a week he was expected to work. Rev. Banks explained to him that he was being paid so that he would not have to work, so that all of his life could be devoted to the ministry of the church. Still not getting it (either the youth minister, or us as he told us about the encounter), he went on to explain that Paul was a tentmaker by occupation. To earn his living and provide for life’s essentials, Paul would make and fix tents. However, through his work with the church, eventually the churches he helped establish began to give him gifts and contributions as a sign of their gratitude, but also as a way of providing for Paul so that he would not have to go back to his occupation – tent making. As long as his needs were being met, Paul did not have to work (his occupation making tents). He could devote all of his life to his vocation (his calling to serve God).

Finally it began to sink in – both the youth minister that Rev. Banks first explained this to, and then to the group he was now telling the story to. You can see evidence of what Rev. Banks was talking about throughout many of Paul’s writings. This morning I was reading from Philippians 4:10-20, and as Paul is writing while imprisoned (either in Caesarea, Ephesus, or most likely Rome), he speaks of being content in whatever circumstances he was in. Verses 16-17 read, “For even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.” As he gives thanks for the gift, he even sees the giving of the gift as a blessing for the ones who gave it.

I got to thinking about Paul today, because not everyone is able to just drop their occupation to follow a vocation. I believe that we are all called (vocare – Latin meaning “to call”; root word for vocation) to serve God in some way, but not all are called to leave their occupation. Many can live up to their calling (vocation) within their occupation. God has a purpose and calling for each and every one of us. Do you let your job possess you? The root word for “occupation” is “occupy.” The word occupy comes from a latin word which meant to possess. So does your job possess you, or are you able to live up to a calling within your occupation?

Hercules! Hercules! - Devotion for 6/20/07

Hercules! Hercules! – Devotion for 6/20/07

I remember learning and being intrigued by some of the Greek mythology back when I was in school. Some of the stories that are a part of the classical tradition really are neat stories. One of the stories that I was fond of was the story of Hercules and Antaeus. Hercules was the immortal son of the all-powerful Zeus; Antaeus was the son of Gaia, mother earth. You may be readily familiar with the notoriety of the strength of Hercules, but Antaeus was a giant known as a vicious conquerer whose strength made him appear invincible. Antaeus had a routine of challenging all travelers who came his way to a wrestling match, and upon defeating them he would slaughter them. One day Hercules passed his way, and Hercules accepted Antaeus’ challenge to wrestle. Time and time again Hercules threw Antaeus down on the ground, and time and time again Antaeus would get right back up, almost stronger than before he had been thrown to the ground. Eventually Hercules came to realize that each time Antaeus was thrown onto the ground he was being rejuvenated by his mother, Gaia, the earth. So Hercules devised a new tactic – he held Antaeus high above the ground until all of his power drained away, and then he killed him.

I think in life we find ourselves in a similar battle every day. Although we do not gain strength from the earth, we do gain our strength from being contact/communion with our God. Many times in our life we get knocked down from our struggles, but through God we are truly made stronger through them. And there are many enemies that try to keep us from our strength – work, play, schedules, money, etc. My devotion reading today was in Isaiah 40:12-31, and I particularly love verses 28-31:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tied. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, the will walk and not become weary.

Today if you find yourself knocked down, trust and pray that your strength will be renewed. As your enemy trying to take you away from your source of strength, come back down to earth and gain new strength through time with God.

Rock on - Devotion for 6/19/07

Rock on – Devotion for 6/19/07

Have you ever noticed how many times words like “rock” or “stone” are used within the scriptures? Back in Genesis you had the stone that Jacob used as a pillow (ouch!), and while sleeping on that rock he had the “Jacob’s ladder” dream, and then he used the rock to build a monument called “Bethel” (Genesis 28:11-19). Stones are used to cover wells, stones were used to build monuments, rocks were used to build altars. Rocks were even used to produce water in Exodus, which led to a great deal of confusion for me as a little boy, because I thought there was water inside of all rocks – yet no matter how hard I hit them, water never came out. Rocks and stones were used in the unfortunate matters such as stoning, covering of tombs, and setting up monuments celebrating the life of individuals. You may even recall that in the temptation of Jesus, after Jesus had fasted for 40 days, the devil tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread.

But I have to admit that my favorite use of the word “rock” or “stone” within the context of the scriptures is when God is referenced as “my rock.” I grew up every Sunday hearing my daddy preach, and before every sermon he would pray this prayer from Psalm 19:14 – “May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, truly be acceptable unto you, O Lord my God, my Rock and my Redeemer.” I love that image of God as our rock – the solid ground upon which we stand. I was reminded of the rock image today as I began my devotion time reading Psalm 28, which begins, “To You, O Lord, I call; My rock do not be deaf to me, for if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit.” When we are in those times of desperation for a word from God, we know how slippery life can seem. We know that when we have full faith and trust in God how solid life can seem. Today, call out to the rock, the stronghold, the fortress in our life.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

- “My Hope is Built,” by Edward Mote

Hand of God - Devotion for 6/18/07

Hand of God – Devotion for 6/18/07

As I have mentioned before, my family and I have a beautiful Golden Retriever named Riley. As Riley has gotten older, it seems that he has become more and more afraid of thunderstorms. Riley is a better weatherman than the dudes on TV because you can seem him start pacing around back and forth, and you know a storm is coming. Riley is usually an outside dog, however over the past year, whenever a storm comes up Riley has just taken off running through the radio fence that we use, and he just runs. So after having Riley cleaned and groomed a few weeks ago, we decided to bring him into the house for a bit to see how he could potentially adjust to being an indoors dog. He loved it, and he was so good – he would lay right on a blanket that we had set out for him. He was perfectly behaved, and even though the cats would come up and give him a punch, he would not bite them at all. The only problem we had with him was keeping him from eating the cat food.

That first night that we had him in, the weatherman was calling for thunderstorms. So we got Riley to come into the bedroom and shut the door so he wouldn’t be roaming the house in the middle of the night. Hours into our restful, peaceful night we were awoken by the rumble of the predicted storm. Riley was so nervous – panting, pacing, and trying to crawl under the bed – which is a very difficult thing for a 90 lb. Golden Retriever to do. Riley would not stop pacing and walking around as he was so frightened by the storm outside. We would gently call his name and tell him to lie down, and he would for a moment, but then he would be right back up. Finally I called Riley to my side of the bed, and I got him to lie down on the floor right beside me. I dropped my hand over the side of the bed, and I placed it upon Riley, and something happened. Riley stilled. As long as my hand was upon him he would actually put his head down on the floor and rest. I thought he was asleep, so I pulled my hand up and rolled over, and within a minute Riley was back up panting and pacing. So I had him come over again and I placed my hand upon him, and I fell back asleep with my hand on him – and Riley fell asleep in the peace that I was with him.

This morning in my devotion time I read Psalm 46, and this particular verse stood out to me: “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). I do recognize that in the context of the entire psalm, this verse is actually a direction to quit fighting with one another, but today it just stood out to me because we all fight many kinds of battles. We fight battles with our fears, our sins, our temptations, and all other sort of predicaments. In the midst of those battles, we too should hear the voice of God and feel His hand as He says to us, “Cease striving and know that I am God.” In the midst of you battle today, call out to God, seeking to feel His hand that will give you the peace in the midst of your storm.

Regrets - Devotion for 6/12/07

Regrets – Devotion for 6/12/07

Do you have any regrets? As I look back over my life, I can think of very few. There are many things that if I could do things over I might would do them differently, but I wouldn’t necessarily call that a regret, because each experience I have had has shaped me into the person I am now. Now day to day I may have small regrets, such as regretting that I maybe said something to someone that I shouldn’t have or what not, but those regrets usually pass by pretty quickly. But for me, the type of regret that sticks in my crawl is the regret over not doing something that I just felt that I should have.

One day recently I was on my way into the hospital to visit with someone, and as I was walking past the emergency entrance, a SUV came squealing into the parking lot, and came to a screeching halt right behind the ambulances. I suddenly heard shouting and screaming as I presume a mother and father got out the SUV and the dad carrying what appeared to be about a 10 year old girl, and the mom was screaming, “Look at her, she’s getting pale!” As the dad was carrying the girl into the ER, security guards were coming out and yelling at the mom and dad about needing to move their car. One of the guards physically got in front of the mom ordering her to move the car, and mom was just beside herself that as her child was being carried into the ER, she was actually going to have to move the car. I kept walking. The mom moved the car, and was able to get back into the ER. But I felt such incredible regret that I did not go over to them, hand them my card, and ask if I could move her car for her. At that moment, I was feeling that pull telling me I should do something, but I just kept walking. I knew I was supposed to at least try to help, but I did nothing. I believe that it is those “do nothing/keep walking” moments that create the most difficult regrets.

My devotional reading time today came from Galatians 5:16-26, and years ago I memorized one of those verses. Galatians 5:25 states, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” If we as Christians profess Jesus Christ as Lord, then the Spirit is with us, guiding us and strengthening us. But the Spirit is guiding and strengthening us for something, and the Spirit is leading us into those moments where our strength will be utilized. If we live by the Spirit, we can’t pick and choose the situations that we will be guided to. If we live by the Spirit, we can’t simply plan out our course. If we live by the Spirit, the Spirit will put us into situations that we would not have chosen on our own. And in those moments, we will be faced with a potential regret. If we live by the Spirit, will we also walk by the Spirit? To walk by the Spirit means to take each step of the Christian life under the strength and guidance of the Spirit. If we live by the Spirit, then when we feel those nudges or those pullings as I did that day at the hospital, then we will not keep walking on our path, but we will walk in the Spirit. Don’t live your life with regrets. Trust and obey the guidance of the Spirit.